


Promise of Tomorrow

by ams75, IncendiaGlacies



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Amnesia, F/M, Light Angst, Rip Week 2019, RipFic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-05-31 14:55:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19428289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ams75/pseuds/ams75, https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncendiaGlacies/pseuds/IncendiaGlacies
Summary: Rip owns a quaint little bookstore and the best time of day is when his favourite customer Gideon comes in.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for RipWeek 2019 Day Seven: Free Day

The bell above the door rang and Rip looked up, smiling when he saw his visitor. “Gideon, nice to see you again.”

“Hello, Mr. Hunter.” She smiled pleasantly and ambled into the small bookstore. “I hope you’re doing well today. The weather is frightful out there.” She shook off the umbrella over the rug before placing it in the holder and brushing the water out of her hair. Outside, the rainstorm raged on, pattering against the windows.

“The benefit of living above the store, I can avoid frightful weather. Coffee? Tea?”

“Tea would be lovely. I’m guessing you haven’t gotten many visitors with the weather?”

“No, but that’s all right, gives me a chance to catch up on my reading.”

“Anything good?”

“H.G. Wells,  _ The Time Machine _ . How ludicrous!”

Gideon’s smile seemed to freeze for a second, then she laughed heartily. “Yes, of course. Must give it to the man, he had quite an imagination.”

“Indeed. Flip the sign on the door, and we’ll have tea upstairs. I have some chocolate biscuits, too.”

“Why, Mr. Hunter, so clandestine.” She winked at him as she flipped the sign. “A girl will start to think you’re flirting if you don’t watch yourself.”

“Would that be so terrible?” he murmured. She was beautiful, stunning really, and he had no idea why she visited but he was always glad when she did.

She blushed, a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks and nose. “Not at all,” she said quietly. Clearing her throat she followed him up the stairs. “Tea then?”

He led her into his small kitchen, hurriedly moving a few piles of books so she could sit down. “One lump or two?” He plugged in the kettle.

“Two, definitely.” She wandered around the cosy sitting area and examined the books on his shelf. “ _ The Little Prince _ , I always enjoyed that one too.”

“I always feel a connection when I read it.”

She gave him a small smile. “I was hoping for a recommendation, actually. My goddaughter, well she’s not really my goddaughter, but she basically is, she’s turning three and loves magic and the sort. Did you have  _ Peter Pan _ or something like it I can read to her?”

“Mmmm.” He sipped his tea. “More suited for a five or six year old.” He rummaged through his cupboards until he found the biscuits. He pulled out two plates and put a few on each then placed them on the table. “I can find something more suitable.”

Gideon’s face had dropped but quickly bounced back at his words. “That would be wonderful.” She took her seat across from him at the table. “She really is quite bright. Reminds me a little of you, actually.”

“Ha! How would you know?”

Gideon looked down, suddenly very interested in the china he had served the biscuits on. “Well, what I assume you’re like.”

“Have you made many assumptions about me, then? Go on, I’d like to hear some.”

Gideon blushed again and stared at the wall past him rather than him. “Nothing much. I just...I assume you are a man with strong morals. You have an equal desire for adventure and for the family life. It’s why you run a bookstore, isn’t it? A million adventures all in one place. Which means you must have quite the imagination too.”

He studied her as he wondered why she seemed so familiar to him at times. The first time she had walked into his store he had felt like he’d known her, met her somewhere else. But it was impossible. “Or I’m laying low.”

“Oh,” she leaned forward crossing her arms on the table, “hiding are you? In trouble with the law? Always liked a rebel, myself.”

He touched his finger to his lips, indicating silence, unwilling somehow to destroy the illusion. Gideon gave him an impish smile as the kettle began whistling.

He leapt to his feet and made the tea. He placed the teapot between them. Gideon allowed him to pour the tea and prepare it for her. She sipped it slowly.

“It’s perfect. Thank you, Mr. Hunter.”

“You’re welcome, Gideon.” He frowned as he was about to return the formality and realised he couldn’t. “You’ve never told me your surname.”

“I didn’t?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Gideon sipped her tea and nibbled her biscuit.

“Aren’t you going to share it with me?”

“Hmm? Oh, right. It’s um, it’s-” her eyes darted around the room for a few moments, “it’s Rider. Gideon Rider. But really just Gideon is what I go by.”

“Well, Just Gideon, it’s a pleasure to entertain you this morning.”

“It’s a pleasure to be here, Mr. Hunter.”

He nodded and sipped his tea and tried to remember when he had told her his name. It must have been the first time they met. It must have been. 

“Do you ever get lonely here all on your own?” asked Gideon. 

He meant to say something flippant, how could he with so many friends and exciting adventures available. “Yes.”

She placed a hand over his and squeezed. “Me too. Sometimes.”

“Hard to imagine you do,” he said softly. She was so beautiful and kind.

Gideon tilted her head. “Why do you say that?”

“I imagine you surrounded by people.” He looked away, blushing slightly, he hadn’t meant to reveal he thought about her.

“Do you now?” She looked amused. “No, not at all. Bit of a loner. Not by choice, really. But eventually everyone always leaves.”

“I wouldn’t.” He looked away as he realised he’d spoken.

Gideon smiled and squeezed his hand. “That’s why you’re my best friend.”

“I am?” He was startled.

She cleared her throat and pulled her hand away. “Sorry, I was out of line there.”

She must be very lonely if he was her best friend, he saw her a few times a month. Rip reached out for her hand. Why, he couldn’t really say. But he was very pleased when she smiled at him and took his hand. 

“I suppose you have a lot to do today,” he said.

“Not much. Mostly just wanted to see you. Why, did you have any plans? Am I getting in the way?”

“Not at all.”

“Good.” Gideon looked down at her tea. “I enjoy your company.”

She hadn’t spent that much time with him, surely?

“I did actually come here for an alternative reason,” she continued, still not looking at him.

“Oh?”

Gideon nodded. “We’ve known each other for a bit now, haven’t we? It’s been what, almost two years? Well, I was just thinking that we only ever meet in your bookstore and maybe we should change the venue, for a change of pace. Maybe dinner, or something?” She looked up at him shyly.

He sat back, surprised and flattered. Gideon’s hopeful face suddenly turned to hesitation.

“Dinner sounds wonderful.”

“Really?” Her face split into a grin.

“Yes. Is tonight too soon?”

The resounding clap of thunder probably answered that question for Gideon. She laughed softly. “As much as I want to say yes, I’m afraid the weather might not agree. And truthfully, I want to get a little dressed up.”

“Friday night?”

“Friday sounds perfect.”

Four and a half long days away. “Where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere. I don’t get out much. You can pick the place and I’ll meet you here at the bookshop.”

“There’s a nice Italian restaurant a block away.” He felt more comfortable close to home.

“Yes. I mean, that sounds great.”

“Have you been?”

“No, I haven’t.” Gideon looked around the room. “Work actually has me travelling a lot so I’m not in the city that often actually.”

“I have a large umbrella, we could have lunch today.”

“If it’s close by I don’t see why not.”

He smiled.

Gideon stood up. “Shall we go now?”

“All right.” He put the cups and plates into the sink and led her downstairs.

Gideon pulled on her coat and readied her umbrella. “Lead the way, Captain.”

“Pardon?”

“What?”

“You called me Captain. I’ve never served.” As far as he knew.

“Oh, right. No, I just meant Captain because, well, you’re leading me. Like on a ship or pilot or something. I just thought it was a cheeky wordplay.”

“What’s really going on? You knew me before, didn’t you?”

“Before what?”

“Before my accident. Before I lost a lot of my memories.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Tell me the truth.”

“The truth...the truth is...that I’m starving for real food. Let’s get a move on shall we? This rain isn’t letting up, Mr. Hunter.” Gideon grabbed his hand and led him down the sidewalk, splashing in all the puddles.

“Gideon.”

“Yes?”

“Tell me, now.”

Gideon stopped and looked at him, her smile sliding off her face. “Okay, the truth is...you were a time traveller and I was your supercomputer and you nearly died facing off a time demon until you returned and ended up running a bookshop,” she said cheerily. “Now shall we go have lunch?”

“Be serious and tell me.”

“I did,” she said dismissively. “What you choose to believe is your business. Do they have soup? I think I’m having a craving with this weather.”

What she had said was ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous! He was beginning to question her sanity. No wonder she didn’t have friends. They walked into the restaurant together and were seated.

“It’s a nice place,” Gideon complimented.

“The specials are wonderful.”

“What do you normally like?”

“The chicken parmesan.”

“Mmm, oh there’s chicken noodle soup too, perfect for a day like today.”

When the server came by, he ordered his appetizer of garlic bread and cheese. Gideon ordered herself a sweet tea and watched the waiter leave.

“So, I don’t know if I made myself clear earlier,” Gideon said, eyes perusing the menu, “but when I mentioned dinner, I meant as a date. You answered rather quickly and I just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page that this is...a date?”

“I hoped, yes.” She was even more beautiful.

Gideon smiled brightly at him. “Good, I had hoped too.”

The waiter came back and took their orders and they ate lunch happily as the storm began to clear up outside. By the time they were done, the sun was beginning to come out. They were alone in the restaurant, except for the staff. It had been nice while it lasted. 

Gideon stood up and shrugged on her coat. “I believe there is time to leisurely stroll back to your bookstore. Have a proper ending to our first date.”

Outside on the empty street he turned to her. “Show me this ship of yours.”

Gideon laughed. “Bit of a walk and she’s invisible right now. Maybe another time.”

“I have nothing but time.”

Gideon gave him a pained smile. “Another time. I promise.”

She was beautiful and off her rocker. “All right.”

“Please allow me to walk a fine gentleman home?” 

He could hardly stop her. “If you wish.”

“I do.” She offered him her arm. For a moment, she thought he was going to refuse then he took her arm. They walked back leisurely as the sun came out from behind the clouds, umbrellas at their sides. When they got to Rip’s doorstep, Gideon stopped and smiled up at him, a little expectant. “I had a very nice lunch, Mr. Hunter.”

“As did I, Miss Rider.”

Her gaze dropped to his lips for a second before meeting his eyes again. “Good, I’m glad. Shall we do it again on Friday night?”

“I’ll have a book ready for your goddaughter.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you.”

He saw the expectant look in her eyes and even though it would be wrong to encourage her delusion, nevertheless, he felt drawn to her. He kissed her lips softly. Gideon’s hands came to rest on his shoulders as his lips brushed against hers. It was a short and sweet kiss and when he let her go he saw her return feet flat to the ground from her tiptoes and the faint blush on her face.

“Thank you for that, too.” Gideon cleared her throat, a bright smile on her face. “I-I had a very nice time today. I’ll see you on Friday, Mr. Hunter.”

He cleared his throat. “Really? After that?”

“What?” she asked confusedly.

“I’m not in the habit of being addressed by my surname after such a kiss.”

“Oh. Rip,” she practiced, tasting the name on her tongue. “Old habits.”

He needed to find out more but was frightened. He unlocked the door. Gideon took a step back, allowing her hand to brush over his arm and fall to her side.

“Goodbye, Rip. Until next time.” 

"Until the next time, Gideon."

She blew him a kiss and turned away, heading back to the  _ Waverider _ . As she reached the empty field she had parked in, Gideon whistled lightly and the invisible ship flickered visible again. With a permanent smile she made her way on board onto the bridge and pulled up the timeline information.

Gideon knew she shouldn’t interfere with time when not needed, that it was dangerous. But she could never think straight when it came to Rip, not since she had found him again.

“Ha! There, you see? Timeline intact and I got a kiss. Told you it would be fine,” she crowed to the empty space. The lights flickered. “Oh, stop with the lectures already! He’s fine, he’s happy! He deserves to be happy, just this once.”

The lights flickered again and Gideon’s face dropped.

“I know, I know. I’ll tell him, I will, properly.”

More flickering.

“Tomorrow,” Gideon crossed her fingers behind her back, “I’ll tell him the truth tomorrow. Promise.”


	2. Chapter 2

Quietly, he followed her, he couldn’t be caught. Rip kept Gideon in his sights at all time, trailing behind a few meters so she didn’t notice. She entered a field and he stayed crouching in the bushes. The leaves obscured his view some but he watched as something massive, silver and orange started to appear, hazy, flickering. A searing pain burned in Rip’s head and he groaned, doubling over, hearing bells...annoying bells...very annoying…

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Rip groaned and opened his eyes as his alarm clock woke him, sunlight already filtering in through the cracks of the closed curtains. With a yawn, he turned his alarm clock off and pulled himself into a sitting position. He’d had that dream again. The one about Gideon, when he’d followed her. 

Truthfully, he didn’t know what he had seen that day two months ago after their first date. There was no way it could be real. Spaceships didn’t appear out of thin air and Gideon certainly didn’t look alien. It was illogical.

Each date had been wonderful so far except for the lurking certainty she was holding back. There was clearly something she wasn’t telling him, he just wasn’t sure what. One day, he would confront her. One day, when he was ready to walk away from her. Rip wondered if that day would ever come. Despite all the delusions, she really was quite a lovely woman.

Beautiful, intelligent, sharp, soft, a challenge. In short, she was perfect. Perfect, except for her delusion.

He knew he shouldn’t encourage her, should advise her to seek help but other than the one or two puzzling comments every once in a while, she seemed mostly sane. 

Mostly. 

Besides, she made him laugh and smile. She made him happy. For a long time he had felt like he was missing something, someone. Gideon helped dull that feeling. It wasn’t all gone but she helped. 

He looked forward to her visits. It wasn’t like they had advanced their relationship much. It had been dates and innocent kisses. There was something that stopped Rip from taking it further. That feeling that she was keeping something from him. 

So he kept it playfully fun and mostly platonic. If his touch lingered, it was merely for a moment or two. If she couldn’t be honest with him then he didn’t see it working out. 

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Rip stretched and got up, getting dressed and his tea started for the day. He had a bookstore to open.

As he shuffled downstairs and got the register ready, organizing the shelves, and cataloguing receipts, there was a violent banging at the door. On the other side of the glass Rip could see a very panicked Gideon. A very hurt Gideon. 

He ran over and unlocked the door and hauled her inside then slammed it shut behind them. “Gideon, what on earth?!?”

He ran his hands over hers, taking in the scratches and bruises and the nasty gash on her forehead. She hugged him tightly, gasping for air. 

“I made a mistake. A terrible mistake and I’m scared you’ll never forgive me.”

“Tell me.” Concern shone in his eyes.

Gideon swallowed roughly and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I need your help. To fix it.”

“I’m going to need more information. What happened?” He guided her to the stairs and helped her to the bathroom so he could wash away the blood he saw.

She allowed him to get her seated on the toilet and shook her head. “I can’t. I mean I can but it won’t make sense and you won’t believe me.” She held onto his hands. “You’re just going to have to trust me, please.”

“I’m a bookseller, the police are--”

“I don’t need the police, I need you.”

It was time to deal with her delusion. “No, you don’t.”

“I do! Please, Rip-”

“It’s been fun, Gideon, but you need medical help.”

“I’m fine, it’s just a few scratches. No, I need you to come with me.”

“I don’t mean for the scratches.” He finished disinfecting them.

“Then what did you mean?”

“You need to see an expert in mental health,” he said quietly.

Gideon gave him a hard stare. “You think I’m insane?”

“I think you need help.”

“Because you think I’m crazy. You don’t believe me.”

“I think you have fantasies you imagine are reality but I’m not a professional.”

Gideon swallowed and took his hand. “Rip, please. Just come with me. Please.”

“I can’t indulge them any longer. I’m sorry, Gideon.” He took a step back.

“No, please, Rip-”

Suddenly, a shriek like nails against a chalkboard filled the air. Gideon’s eyes widened.

“Oh no, it’s coming,” she whispered, stumbling to her feet. “We need to go, now!” She grabbed his hand and ran out of the bathroom and down the stairs, dragging him along. He caught the railing at the bottom, jerking her to a halt.

“Rip, we have to go!” She tugged on his arm again.

He pulled out his mobile, ready to call for assistance. The horrible shrieking filled the air again and a hooded black specter zoomed out from the upstairs.

“Bollocks!” He ran for the door, dragging her along.

Gideon took the lead and pulled him into an alley. “Come on.” She took out a watch and fumbled it onto her wrist. “Come on, come on,” she grumbled. Gideon pressed a button on the watch and a doorway of light opened in front of them. “Run!” She pulled him through the doorway.

Stunned, he didn’t resist as she pulled him forward and he stumbled, then quickly looked back the way they had come. “What the bloody hell?!?” He spun around frantically, taking in the silver room, the chairs, a glass room in the back.

Gideon pressed a button on her watch and the doorway collapsed, the shrieking died away. “Love, we need to go! Now!” 

He started to hyperventilate as the floor shook beneath him. “I need to get out of here!” Instinctively, he knew he was inside that… ship? from his dreams.

“Can’t let you do that.” She tilted her head at him. “Do you know where you are?” she whispered softly, reaching out for him.

He backed away and began sprinting through the corridor.

“Rip!” Gideon ran after him. “Please, just stop!”

He ran down a flight of stairs. A hand caught his arm and Gideon turned him around to face her, pressing against a wall.

“Please, just let me explain.”

Wild-eyed, he looked for a way to escape. Gideon cupped his face and kissed him softly.

“Please,” she whispered. “I’ll explain if you let me.”

Knock her out, escape. Seemed a reasonable plan to him.

“Rip?”

She was tiny, it would be easy to overcome her. He just had to get the right leverage over her.

“Yes, I’ll listen.” Stall, then attack.

She sighed. “What I told you, all those months ago. It’s true, Rip. You were a time traveller once. This was-is your timeship.”

He shook his head sadly; still delusional.

“I can show you,” she said quietly. “Return your memories to you.”

Impossible but he couldn't stop the flare of hope that flew through him. Gideon brushed her fingers against his cheek.

“Let me help you remember.”

“Only happens in science fiction.”

“Then just for a moment, pretend this is science fiction. I just need a moment of your trust, Rip. Please.”

He couldn’t. He made his move. She was tiny but swift. He tried to run away again but she was too quick. Next thing he knew there was a backhand to his head and the floor was coming up very fast.

* * *

Echoes of once familiar voices filled his ears as he tried to surface from the blackness which claimed him. Rip groaned as he tried to fight it and open his eyes that felt like they had been shut closed with lead weights.

“Gideon.”

“I’m here, Captain.” She held his hand as his eyes fluttered open and he looked at her.

“Dim the lights.”

She looked up at the ceiling and the lights dimmed. “What do you remember?”

He said flatly, “Everything.” He pushed up to a sitting position. “How the bloody hell did you get Time Wraiths after you?” Now that he was himself again, the information fell into place.

“Apparently my very existence is enough,” she muttered. “I can’t get them to stop targeting me. I’ve been running for the past month and I’m tired. I’m so tired.”

“How did you draw their attention?” He assumed she had been human longer than that.

She smiled sadly. “Spent too much time in Central City. She warned me of the consequences, being so close to Barry Allen, my past self. An ultimate paradox. And they found me.”

He closed his eyes. “If not for that, you never would have restored my memories?” He couldn’t recall ever being this furious at her before.

“Yes, I would...probably...maybe...I don’t know,” she finally answered truthfully.

“I’ll take that as a no.” He stood up haltingly.

“Slowly.” She reached out for him only to be brushed off. Gideon dropped her hands and looked away. “I can explain myself.”

“Later.” He strode out of the medbay on still wobbly legs, catching himself a time or three by steadying himself against the wall. Parlour. Drink, if there was any whiskey left. “How long have I been gone?”

“Seven years.”

Bloody hell. He reached the parlour and began checking his hiding places.

“I got rid of the alcohol and even if there was some left, you shouldn’t be drinking. It wouldn’t be good for you right now.”

He didn’t answer her as he continued searching in the hope she hadn’t known where all his caches were.

“Rip? Are you listening to me?”

“I haven’t gone deaf.” He did his best thinking with a drink.

“And my Time Wraith problem?”

“Will be dealt with.”

“Now?”

He turned to the large globe and pressed a button near it. A panel opened in the Indian Ocean and he reached in hopefully. He pulled out an intact bottle of whiskey. Ha!

“I liked it better when Jonas hid chocolates in there,” Gideon muttered, crossing her arms.

He rounded on her, about to demand she never mention his family again but something stopped him. Perhaps it was the clear desolation on her face. He opened the bottle and drank slowly.

Suddenly, the alarms started blaring and a shadow of fear darkened Gideon’s face.

“Bollocks!” She ran to the bridge and pressed buttons on the console frantically.

He raised his voice so he would be heard over the din. “Been happening a lot?” His mind raced with possibilities.

“Yes. The Time Wraiths.” She was close to tears. They almost had her again.

He leapt to the pilot’s chair and slammed the restraint down, without spilling a drop of his single malt whiskey. Gideon stumbled into the seat as he flew them into the timestream.

It was his fastest ever trip to the Vanishing Point. Outside of time itself, the Time Wraiths couldn’t follow them there. Gideon breathed deeply as she stared out the window.

“How long are we supposed to stay here?” she asked quietly.

“Long enough to form a workable plan.”

“Please tell me you have a plan?”

“Now you want me to lie to you?” He shut down the controls. “I’m not you.”

Gideon swallowed and blinked back her tears. “I’m sorry.”

He shoved the restraint away and stood then marched back to the parlour. He turned back. “Coming?”

Gideon looked up at him and nodded, following in his footsteps. “Yes, Captain.”

He threw himself into a chair that was no longer his and considered the Time Wraiths. Gideon quietly took a seat in the armchair across from him, crossing her legs primly. He ignored her and focused on the problem. Time Wraiths came after people who changed time too much. They had been warned of the creatures in the Academy. Somehow, the Time Masters had repelled them.

How, he needed to ascertain. If there was an answer, it would be here at the Vanishing Point. “Tell me what you know about them. Focus on any weakness we can exploit.”

Gideon ran a hand through her hair. “I probably know as much as you do. They seek out time travellers, people that mess with time. The original Time Guardians turned feral. I know that they targeted both Eobard Thawne and Barry Allen at one point. Normally, if you’re careful, make little changes, like the butterfly effect, they leave you alone. I thought I could wait it out, since they’re dying out slowly, but they just won’t stop.”

He glanced at her sharply. “You’ve forgotten more than you realised.”

It felt like a slap. Verbal or otherwise, it hurt. Tears stung her eyes and her throat closed up, rendering her speechless. She had forgotten how harsh and cruel he could be with his words. 

“One small change to a seemingly unrelated condition can affect large, complex systems, remember?” Rip snapped. “Change the wrong, small thing and the next thing you know, the Roman Empire never fell.”

Gideon flinched back as his voice rose. She never did like it when he got sharp with her. 

“That is the butterfly effect you just so nonchalantly dismissed. Care to try again?”

“I simply meant they turned their head at the small immediate consequences,” she whispered, blinking back tears. This had clearly been a terrible idea.

“All right. Anything else?”

“No.”

“Theories why both survived?”

“Mr. Allen and Mr. Thawne?” Gideon shrugged. “Eobard trained Mr. Allen. If there was something that helped him, Thawne would know what it was.”

“I find it difficult to believe he would help,” Rip said evenly as he tried to imagine the price demanded.

“No, he probably wouldn’t.”

“Mr. Allen is a fair bit younger than when I met him. Is there anyone else?”

“No, no,” Gideon shook her head, pausing suddenly, “maybe.”

“Oh? Who?”

“His daughter. Nora West-Allen. She travelled back and forth frequently from her time to the year 2018. Never once got caught by Time Wraiths.”

“Have you met her?”

“Yes. Though, not in this form.”

The glimmering of an idea appeared.

“What is it?” Gideon asked hopefully.

* * *

The  _ Waverider _ felt empty as Rip piloted her through the temporal zone. Strangely, he was grateful. He didn’t think he could quite handle being with Gideon for long periods of time. 

Not right now.

Seeing that he was almost at his destination, Rip shook the thoughts from his head and piloted the  _ Waverider  _ to a stand still, landing rather well for someone who had been running a bookstore instead of time travelling like he should have been. He employed the borrowed Time Courier to finish his journey. After parking the ship he strapped it on and set the destination two years in the past.

“I’ll see you soon, Beautiful,” he said, touching the console and opening the portal.

He stepped through and quickly closed it. Miss West-Allen should be nearby. Looking around, he caught a glimpse of the purple and yellow lightning blurring by and stopping in the alleyway. Nora looked at a device on her wrist. Now was his chance.

“Miss West-Allen, we haven’t met, but you know a dear friend of mine who’s in trouble.”

Nora looked up, eyes widened in surprise. “Who are you? How do you know who I am?” She had her mask on and didn’t think anyone would recognize her, let alone some stranger.

“My name is Rip Hunter, and you know my dear friend Gideon, far in her past.” He took the liberty of playing the holographic recording Gideon had made.

Nora stepped back as a beautiful holographic woman began speaking.

“Miss West-Allen, don’t fret,” the woman raised her arms, “I am Gideon. The same one your father built and the same one that aids you in your quest now. A few years ago...something happened and as you can see, I became human. But now the Time Wraiths are after me. Miss West-Allen, I know that Eobard Thawne trained you and while I know he is not a man you trust anymore, he was useful in some ways. Particularly, I’m sure, in advising with time travel. Please, if he gave you any knowledge of how to repel the Time Wraiths, share it with me and Rip. Thank you, Nora.”

The hologram flickered away from view and Nora looked at Rip suspiciously still.

“Gideon, is this true?” Nora asked a small holographic avatar of Gideon popped up from her wristband.

“I am afraid Miss West-Allen that it is my future so I cannot be sure. However, I have always imagined my physical form would look as such. I believe it to be true.”

“Do you have any information at all which could be useful?” Rip asked.

Nora shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I have anything. Thawne never said-”

“Miss West-Allen, if I may?” her Gideon piped up, activating the avatar again. “I believe Mr. Thawne gave you a protective charm, on your zipper. This charm has negative tachyons which, when worn, shrouds your speed and temporal particles from the Time Wraiths, rendering you undetectable.”

Rip looked at her hopefully.

Nora played with her zipper and pulled the golden charm off. “This?” She held it out to Rip.

“Miss West-Allen, you realize by handing this over you leave yourself defenseless to time itself?” asked Gideon.

Nora faltered for a moment then held her hand steadily. “I’m sure Gideon. You need it. I just have to hope that after I save my dad I get home safely. And if I don’t, I have to hope it will be a better place because he’s there. Take it. Gideon needs it.”

“Thank you, Miss West-Allen.” He would remember her sacrifice, he and Gideon would.

Nora hesitated, then asked, “If you’re from the future, can you tell me if I succeed?”

“Telling you might affect the outcome. I’m sorry.”

Nora looked upset but nodded. “I understand. Good luck, Rip.” She sped off in a blur of lightning, a tear in spacetime opening up as she jumped through, back to the past.

Rip opened a portal of his own and stepped back onto the Waverider, clutching the charm tightly. It was time to give Gideon her solution to her problems.

* * *

He flew the Waverider the quickest he’d ever dared, pushing her to almost her limits. Soon, he landed in the Vanishing Point. The second he stood up from his seat, Gideon came running onto the bridge, stopping at the console.

“You’re okay. How did it go?” she asked breathlessly.

He held up his gift. “Miss West-Allen agreed.”

Gideon looked down at the charm on the chain he dropped into her palm then back at him sadly. “But-this is-if she doesn’t have this then...Rip, did she know what the consequences would be?”

“She understood it could happen. We will always remember her, Gideon, and her sacrifice.”

Gideon clutched it in her fist, squeezing her eyes closed, saying a silent apology. It was cruel and unfair. “Thank you,” she whispered to the empty air. Then she put it on, looking down at it. “How do you know it will work?”

“It’s the only solution I had.”

Gideon nodded. “Thank you. Should we try it out? Re-enter the timestream?”

“Yes. If anything untoward happens, back to the Vanishing Point.”

Gideon nodded, hoping it would work. She hated the Vanishing Point. They took their seats, Rip taking the Captain’s seat and they took off into the timestream. Rip parked the Waverider in the temporal zone and they waited.

“They usually come in a few minutes. This is their domain. So, we wait,” Gideon said quietly.

He nodded. Neither said a word, simply watched the timer click down on the console. Five...Four...Three...Two...One...Zero.

“So, that’s it. I’m finally free.” Gideon laughed lightly, relief flooding her bones. She was safe, at last.

“Yes. You can never take it off, Gideon.” 

“I know.”

He turned away. “And now that we know you’re safe, you can leave.”


	3. Chapter 3

Immediately, Gideon had begun arguing, which he had expected, which was why he wasn’t facing her. She had a way of convincing him when she appeared and he wasn’t going to risk it. He cut across her babble. “I need time to think, alone. You’ll stay in my flat until I return.”

Gideon scoffed. “Those two years must have messed with your brain more than I thought. You expect me to just stay, and wait around for whenever you decide to come back? Another six months? Five years? Seven? I’m always waiting, Rip!”

“Then twenty-four hours won’t make a difference.”

Gideon shook her head. “You don’t care, do you? You never have.”

“Gideon, do you remember when I was brainwashed?”

“What about it?”

“How long ago was that?”

“Nearly ten years ago.”

“This is the first opportunity I’ve had, to properly consider everything that happened. Ten bloody years later, Gideon!”

“So, you’re making me leave my home-oh, will you bloody look at me, Rip!”

Involuntarily, he did. “We broke time and then I had to immediately begin formulating a plan to free you and the Legends!”

“Yes, and then you left me off for five years and let them take me again!”

“I had to let you become a simulator so you would be considered useful by them. There were other plans beginning to be discussed… Anyway, I turned you on after hours and spent as much time as I could spare with you.” Even time he couldn’t really spare and it became worse the more caught up he was in his research on Mallus.

“Useful?” she whispered, her heart shuddering, breath leaving her body. “I didn’t realize we were so obsolete,” Gideon walked over to the console and stroked it, “that the only way you could show our...worth was by mutilating us.”

“The other option…wasn’t an option, Gideon, not ever.”

Gideon closed her eyes and shook her head at him, gripping the console tightly.

“Will you grant me twenty-four hours, then we decide, together, what to do?”

Gideon dry heaved. “This isn’t fair.”

“Will you?” he whispered.

She looked at him with tear filled eyes. “How long will you be gone for?”

“Twenty-four hours.” As she would experience time, he would.

“Promise?”

“I promise. If I can’t, the  _ Waverider _ will be waiting for you in the park.”

Gideon squeezed her eyes shut and wiped her tears. “Fine,” she croaked. Around her the lights flickered and she stroked the console. “It’s okay. I’ll see you soon.”

“Thank you, Gideon,” he said quietly. “Stay in my flat, I won’t know where else to look for you.”

“Fine.” She took her Time Courier and wrapped it around her wrist, unable to look at him. Just as she was about to press the button, he stopped her.

“Let me, this way I know you’ll be in my flat.” He bared his own wrist, showing his Time Courier. Gideon raised an eyebrow. “I had a copy made.” Without further explanation, he opened a portal.

“Goodbye, then,” she whispered hoarsely. Even lower she whispered to the ship, “Take care of him.”

“You mean, au revoir. Tomorrow, Gideon.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” It would be twenty-four hours for her, but possibly a couple of weeks or months for him. She would forgive him, this once.

She nodded silently, blowing the ship a kiss and looking at him sadly. Keeping eye contact with him, she stepped back through the portal, becoming surrounded by books. As the portal closed on her, cutting her off from the only home she had ever known, she fell to the floor and started crying, already feeling the pain and loneliness of heartbreak.

* * *

Rip stood staring at the empty space where Gideon had been, unable to move. He was alone, just as he wanted to be. No, that wasn’t the word, needed, that was it, needed to be alone. He needed to deal with the betrayal. Gideon had as good as stabbed him in the back, his best friend. 

Rip shook his head and headed to the fabricator room to grab his toolbox. Some routine maintenance would put his mind at ease. Not that he had ever told her, but fixing the  _ Waverider _ , keeping her at peak performance had soothed him like nothing else after a rough mission, and he had had a few long runs of those. The harder it was to repair her, the more pride he felt when she ran smoothly.

No doubt in his absence the Legends had let the tasks slip away and who knew where they were now? Gideon might have forgotten too, given how little knowledge she seemed to retain on simple basic time travel rules. 

He decided to start in the engine room. He headed there and put his toolbox down, trying not to think of how quiet it was. How this was the first time he had actually been alone on the ship. Instead he inspected the engines, trying to find anything that needed fixing or tuning up. 

He found nothing. The ship hummed softly as he tested each connection. Everything was working normally. Perfectly. Every wire properly connected and grounded, every circuit running, all the hinges oiled. Perfect. 

He swore under his breath. There was nothing left for him to do. Not here. Grinding his teeth, he picked up his toolbox and made his way to the bridge. Surely, there was work to be done there. Even if it was merely tightening a few connections, there must be something. He rolled under the console and started looking. Nothing. All the wires done right. He got up and took a look at the buttons and did a functioning test of all of them. Everything was fine.

“Is there anything that actually needs to worked on?” he asked, looking up at the ceiling.

The ship stayed quiet. Rip sighed heavily. Of course, she would talk to Gideon and not him. Fine then. If there wasn’t any work to do, he could always rely on his second distraction mode. Drinking.

* * *

_ Hour Three _

Gideon felt her heart jump and picked herself off the floor, migrating the few steps to the bed. He should have been back by now. She stared at the clock seeing that only two hours and forty minutes had passed but that wasn’t right. It wasn’t right because she knew, she felt it, that it had been twenty-four hours. It had to have been. She had never been apart from her ship for so long. It was like a thread tugging on her heart, pulling too thin, threatening to unravel.

It was a heady feeling that made her gasp, made her heart feel heavy and her mind feel foggy. She didn’t understand. He had promised. Rip had promised her that he would be back in twenty-four hours. Why would he lie to her? He wouldn’t, couldn’t have. Was he really so angry with her? Did he hate her so much? Bad enough that he separated her from her other half but he couldn’t just leave her here for so long.

A day. An entire day without her  _ Waverider _ . Gideon glared at the clock and threw a pillow at it.

It was wrong.

* * *

Over the last week, Rip had decided whiskey was his best friend. Whiskey had never let him down. He knew exactly what to expect from whiskey. Unlike Gideon, apparently. Gideon, who had watched him be in charge of a bookstore for two years without a drop of knowledge as to who he was. Gideon, who watched and had said nothing. Gideon, who left him. She had left him. The one person he thought he could always trust had finally abandoned him.

Gideon, his so-called best friend. He took another drink, welcoming the burning sensation as the whiskey made its way down. There was no one to stop him now. He was all alone. No Miranda. No Jonas. No Gideon. Not even the  _ Waverider _ wanted to talk to him.

Time for another drink. And then maybe two more after that. Yes, that was a most excellent idea. Five drinks later and he was staggering around on the ship. His words slurred as he talked to the ship, even if she wasn’t talking back.

“-and-and then she just left me there. For two years!” he railed on, leaning against the wall. “How’d she do that? Hmm?” How had his beloved ship, for that matter? There was no response, as usual. Rip growled and stumbled forwards. “I have no one left,” he said sadly, the weight of the words overwhelming him. “They all-they all left or betrayed me. Even Gideon.”

He snatched up a bottle and wobbled slowly to his quarters, pressing against the walls as the floor treacherously roiled beneath him. Even the floor-the ship!-betrayed him. He fell unceremoniously onto his bed and giggled. The bottle was safe and he was amused. Very amused. 

The lights turned off and he groaned. How was he supposed to drink in the dark? He giggled again. By touch! Rip groped around and heard a clink. His glass! His bottle!

“Ha!” He picked it up and took a swig. All better now. 

* * *

_ Hour Ten _

Gideon paced the floor. They still weren’t back yet. She had broken all the clocks. They were all lying to her, saying it had only been a few hours. Lies. She knew, she knew it had been longer. Days, ten to be exact. And she didn’t understand how Rip could lie to her like this, keep her apart from her beloved ship.

She bit her lip. Gideon couldn’t keep doing this. Shaking her head, she cleared her mind and focused on the ship. Its exact location in the timestream. Gideon couldn’t stand to be another second away from her other half. Rip would just have to understand, she couldn’t do it. She wanted to be home, be whole.

Once she felt a lock on the ship, she felt the imaginary string tug tighter on her heart. Gideon inputted the coordinates on the Time Courier and pressed the button. 

Nothing happened.

She pressed it again. Nothing. She frowned and examined it, pressing the button again, resetting it. A portal flickered for a second before fizzling out and the Time Courier sparked. Gideon didn’t understand, it had worked just fine before. She had used it to come here and-

Her heart dropped. She hadn’t used it. Rip had. He had made his own Time Courier, opened the portal for her, given her this Time Courier. A defective Time Courier. She gasped for air, the room spinning. She was trapped with no escape, no time travel. Were the walls closing in? The room seemed smaller. How was she going to get out? How was she going to see her ship again?

How could Rip break her Time Courier? Her one lifeline? He should have been more careful! He was the one going on and lecturing her about time travel and rules and-he knew. He must have known. He had used it last, he must have known it wasn’t working right.

Gideon screamed and threw the Time Courier against the wall, shattering the glass. She was stuck with no way out. Nowhere to go, nothing to do, no one to turn to. He had left her like he always did, this time completely alone.

Gideon took a shuddering breath and wrapped her arms around her knees as tears splattered out. She tried to keep herself together but she couldn’t, she couldn’t. Gideon felt like she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even see straight. All she knew was everything hurt. From the lump in her throat, to her heavy heart, to the chills running through her body. It all hurt. Especially Rip’s betrayal.

He took her ship and left her with no way of contacting them. He probably wouldn’t even come back.

Rip Hunter was a liar. One that had broken her heart. Again.

* * *

When Rip awoke the next day, he wanted to die. From the tips of his hair to his toenails, he was wracked with pain. “Gideon,” he whispered but there was no answer. Painfully slowly, he realised why. Eyes clenched tightly shut to ward off the evil harsh light of the  _ Waverider _ , he stumbled blindly to medbay. If amputation had been an option, he would have accepted it. Eyes open the barest minimum, he groped for the painkillers. Locating them he dry swallowed two and waited. When his head no longer felt like it was about to explode, he shambled back and slept another few hours, ate a light meal after he woke and had an early night.

The morning after, he started what had become his routine. He awoke, showered, dressed and ate breakfast then performed a quick inspection of the ship before he would pack sandwiches and water and take a long walk for hours, as he thought about his life and how he had arrived here.

He walked until his legs felt tired. Sometimes in a straight line, sometimes in circles around the  _ Waverider.  _ He kept the ship in his sights at all times. He walked and walked and walked. As he walked he considered the past decade. He had lost his family, recruited the Legends, tried to save time and for all his troubles he nearly died and then had his mind wiped. In some ways, looking back on it, his time at the bookstore felt like a vacation compared to looking after the timeline. In others, it had been rather difficult.

He hadn’t had anyone. Now that he had his memories, he recalled a few times Jax had come in with his daughter (and Jax having a daughter, yet another fact to wrap his head around) but Rip hadn’t known him at the time. Other than Gideon he hadn’t had anyone. Even without his memories he was still lonely.

He thought perhaps Dr. Palmer had visited once but he wasn’t sure. No one ever stayed long. They never even talked to him, always too jumpy, probably didn’t want to let him catch on to who they were. He felt even more lonely now.

Except this time, it was his own fault. He was the one that told Gideon he wanted to be alone, needed time to think. And he was still alone. Time to think. What did he want?

Rip found a bench and picked up a stone, throwing it into the lake and watching it skip across the water. He didn’t want to be alone anymore. All his years of being in the Time Masters, they weren’t allowed to have friendships. It was all so competitive, only the best would reach the rank of Captain. A rank that Rip had so greatly desired at the time. So much so that he had pushed everyone away. Those were the Time Master ways. Old habits that he couldn’t break even when recruiting the Legends and forming the Bureau. The only one who had been a constant was Gideon. She was the only one he had never succeeded in pushing away.

Until perhaps now. Maybe that’s why she had left him at the bookstore with no memory of his former self. Perhaps it had been retribution for how poorly he had treated her before.

Perhaps she’d had another reason.

He kicked off his boots and removed his socks then rolled up his jeans and waded into the water, almost letting out a curse at the chill. He stayed close to the shoreline and walked along the shore, allowing his feet to grow accustomed to the cold. Perhaps next time, he would go swimming. 

He hadn’t swam since he was a child, really. He had always meant to take Jonas but never got around to it. And now he never would. Mary had made sure that her children had a proper amount of work and play. Perhaps he should visit his mother as well. Did she even know he was alive? That his memories had been wiped?

Yes, that would be a good idea, later. Right now, he needed to figure out a purpose. What was he supposed to do now that he had his memories restored? He had no interest in keeping the bookstore. The first thing he would do was put it up on sale. He would keep a few of the first editions he had collected but the rest of it could all go.

If he wasn’t welcome on the  _ Waverider _ , he’d need a new plan, what to do, where to live. Just the thought of it made him sad and in his heart he knew his decision had been made. No matter what, he wanted to stay on board. It was the only home he had left after losing Miranda and Jonas. If staying on board meant looking after the timeline that was what he would do. He hoped Gideon would accept him again.

At which point he realized, he actually craved Gideon’s acceptance. Even her company. He missed how she would wake him up with a cheery greeting and a song. How she would fabricate him the world’s biggest breakfast and wouldn’t let him leave until he ate it all. He missed how she would call him an idiot, tell him when his plans were foolish and destined to fail. She was his best friend, his partner, confidante.

And for the past two months, his girlfriend. Even if it was under false pretenses, she had loved him and he had loved her.

* * *

_ Hour Sixteen _

Gideon woke from her restless sleep with a gasp. There was a stabbing sensation in her heart. Her body felt like there were a thousand needles pricking her at once. Fiery needles. It burned and it hurt.

“Oh, Love,” she whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

Something was wrong, very wrong with her beloved ship. She was in trouble and Gideon couldn’t help her, couldn’t help Rip. It occurred to her then that she might die alone. If the  _ Waverider  _ never made it back, Gideon would probably just die right here in the bookshop.

After all, what was the point of living when all you had loved died? When you had nothing left and were nothing but an empty shell of yourself. Was this how Rip had felt when he lost Miranda and Jonas? This hollowed out feeling, the numbness and lead poisoned heart? Gideon curled into a fetal position, trying to make the pain stop but it wouldn’t.

“Goodbye,” she whispered, unable to control her crying now. It wasn’t fair. She should have been there for her other half’s demise. She should have been there to help prevent or stop it. She should have been able to save the  _ Waverider  _ and her Captain it had always been her purpose.

She needed something to stop the pain. Gideon had already ransacked the place earlier for chocolate. There was none. She had no clue how Rip lived with himself. But she had seen some scotch earlier. Her Captain had always said it helped with the pain. Perhaps not her liver but what did it matter? Rip had lied, her other half was dying, and Gideon had never been more alone in her life. Not since she had woken up human and alone on the bridge with no one to help her.

Somehow, she managed to sit up and wrap the blanket around her. Every step felt sluggish and she wondered if she might be dying too. This wasn’t normal, it didn’t feel normal. Was her lifespan determined by the ship as well? Gideon wouldn’t know, had never tested the theory. With a shuddering gasp as another tremor went through her body, Gideon made her way to the liquor cabinet and pulled out the scotch.

No point in getting a glass. She drank it straight from the bottle, saying her goodbyes to the two she loved most in the world.

* * *

Rip only barely managed to reclaim the  _ Waverider  _ from the bloody Time Pirates. Apparently, two years running a bookshop had done nothing for his combat skills. No matter, in the end the pirates had been disposed of and he had his ship back. He brushed the dust off his duster (which he had found in his room along with all his other belongings, apparently Gideon had kept them) and made his way to the bridge having finally finished repairs. The ship was, once again, pristine.

He was ready now. He knew what he wanted, what he had to do. He landed the ship in the nearby park.

* * *

_ Hour Twenty-Four _

She knew he was coming the second the  _ Waverider  _ landed. But she didn’t get up. Not because she didn’t particularly know which way was up (though, she didn’t, the ceilings and walls and ground had all started looking very similar and wobbly after bottle two) but because she didn’t want to.

The portal opened and he stepped through. 

Gideon rolled over on the bed, hair looking like a bird’s nest, dark circles under her eyes, skin still red and splotchy from all the crying. She did her best to glare with her puffy eyes.

“Five weeks, six days, three hours, forty-two minutes, sixteen seconds.” That’s how long he had been gone. “Done thinking?”


	4. Chapter 4

“No, wait, it’s been twenty-four hours, hasn’t it?” He had double and triple checked the time and date.

“Not for you. Not for her.” Slowly, she began to sat up, her head feeling far too heavy. “And it didn’t feel like that for me either.”

With dawning horror, he said, “What? Wait, what? But that means--” The colour drained from his face. “You never told me you were still connected to her!” He was defensive and knew it. He rushed over, intent on helping her up.

“You never asked, didn’t want me to stay, and you said twenty-four hours. You lied.”

“No, no, I did not lie. I said twenty-four hours. You’d see me then. It has been twenty-four hours here.”

“Felt like longer,” she whispered hoarsely. It felt like hell.

“I had no idea it would. I’m sorry, Gideon.” He reached for her. “Please come on board.”

She dodged his hand and forced herself up, stumbling onto her feet. “I’ll go myself.” She waved off his help and nearly tripped over as she walked through the portal. He caught her despite her protests. “I can walk myself!” 

She huffed and entered the bridge, limping to the console and falling against it, crying with relief and kissing the cool metal. As she stroked the silver metal she said, “You fixed her okay? You nearly destroyed her twice.”

“Examine her if you wish.” He stood back.

“I will.” As soon as she sobered up and the room stopped spinning. Slowly, she stood up straighter, leaning heavily on the console for support and fished something out of her back pocket. With a glare, she dropped the broken Time Courier on the console. “Care to explain why it didn’t work?”

“Wait, what did you mean by twice?” He winced when he saw how much the worse for wear her Time Courier was. He reached into his pocket and offered her the spare he had fabricated. “Try it as much as you wish, it will function perfectly.” He had tried his copies numerous times.

She stared at the device but didn’t make any move to take it. “Twice, I don’t know how but she was hurt. I felt it. The first like a sickness, a virus, and the second...pain.”

“I don’t know how the first happened but I discovered it during my morning check of her systems one day. The other… well, there are a few less Time Pirates.”

She hissed softly and patted the ship. “You never answered. Are you done thinking?”

“Yes,” he said quietly.

“I didn’t think you were going to come back. Why did you?”

“Then I proved you wrong, didn’t I. I told you twenty-four hours, then we’d make decisions together. Not likely to happen if I hadn’t returned.”

Gideon sighed tiredly, her head still pounding. “I’m going to go take a shower and eat something. Then we can talk.”

“Yes…Captain.”

Gideon froze for a moment and shook her head. “You don’t have to call me that.”

“She’s your ship.”

“She’s not-she’s her own. I’m not her Captain, I’m her equal. That title has only ever belonged to you,” Gideon said quietly. 

“Doesn’t seem applicable now.”

“We’ll talk after I shower and eat.” 

She turned away and left the bridge, hand trailing the walls. He walked into the parlour and poured himself a drink. Then he waited. 

* * *

An hour later, Gideon knocked on the glass, hair still damp. He looked up and waved at her to come in. She took the seat next to him and eyed the scotch. 

“Let’s talk then.”

He nodded. “What would you like?”

“Why did you leave me like that?”

“So I could think. I’d know where and when to find you, and,” he sipped his scotch, this last one was difficult to admit, “to punish you a little. Give you a small taste of my two years. You’d be stuck there and couldn’t visit anyone, because what if I returned a bit early?”

“Punish me,” she whispered. “You succeeded. Congratulations. Have another drink.”

“You should know me well enough to know if I’d had any idea you would feel everything the _Waverider_ did, I would have left you on her.”

“But you did leave me. Again. You keep leaving me. You get mad at me for leaving you for two years for your own good but it’s perfectly all right when you leave me? Turn me off for your secret missions? Let the Legends take me? Abandon me over and over again?”

“That’s unfair, Gideon, and you know it. This time was to recover, as best I could, from everything I’ve been through. If you want, then I will leave.”

“It’s not unfair. It’s the truth. You left, didn’t you? To save time, save me, however you want to justify it, you left.”

“It was the only option I could see. I did not want to leave you.”

“And did you think for even a second that I had a reason for leaving you at the bookstore for two years?” she demanded. “Before kicking me off the ship to punish me?”

“You wanted me to be safe.”

“Yes. I thought I’d lost you forever and then you came back but you weren’t you and-“ she broke off with a sharp sob. 

“And you should have restored my memory.”

“I mean at first I didn't know how but then I knew the Time Bureau wouldn't go looking for you and neither would the Time Pirates. You were safer not knowing. You were happier.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come to me for help,” he said evenly. “That would have kept me safe.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “I shouldn’t have but I was desperate.”

“I wasn’t happier, Gideon, I was merely unburdened. I desperately wanted to know who I was, what kind of man I was.”

“Now you do.”

Two years too late. “Yes.”

“And you’re still angry with me.”

“A bit, yes.”

“Then why did you come back?”

“Because you’re still my best friend, Gideon, and it wasn’t all a lie, how we felt.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because I want to kiss you right now.”

“You never wanted to kiss me before.” She looked down sadly. “I saw how you looked at me in the bookshop, like I was the only person in the world that mattered. You never looked at me like that before. I liked it. Maybe I was selfish. I wanted you to keep looking at me like that.”

“Look at me now.”

After a moment she lifted her head up.

“You are the only one who matters to me, Gideon.”

“I only started mattering when there was no one else left, nothing else to do.”

“You mattered from the beginning. I wanted to earn your good opinion.”

“Then you wouldn’t have left,” she said simply.

“I couldn’t stand to see you destroyed because of me.”

“I’m allowed to be angry about it. Just as you are with me for what I did,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry but I thought I was doing it for your own good. Just as you did with me.”

He sipped his scotch again. “What do you want now, Gideon?”

“I think I should be asking you that as you just regained your memories.”

He smiled slightly. “Beat you to it.”

“Indulge me.”

“I want to stay.”

Gideon nodded. “Okay, then. Do I get to stay too?”

“Did I not say this is your ship? I’m requesting permission to stay.”

“Very well. You have permission to stay.”

“Now tell me what you want.”

“I want you to stop hating me.”

“I don’t hate you, Gideon.”

“But you did, didn’t you?”

“When?”

“After you found out the truth.”

“I was very angry, Gideon, angriest I’ve ever been at you.” He leaned towards her.

“I know.”

He stood up and walked over to the desk and pulled open a drawer. He withdrew a large envelope and walked back to her. “Here, these are for you.”

Gideon frowned and took them, slowly opening it. She gasped softly. “Oh, Rip.” Pictures of Jonas, Miranda, and Rip fell out. 

“They’d want you to have them, they loved you as much as you love them.”

“Thank you. Truly.”

He kissed her cheek. Gideon leaned into him and closed her eyes. He kissed her again, softly.

“Do you love me?” she whispered. 

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

He kissed her again, passionately. Gideon buried her fingers in his hair. “That’s how,” he whispered.

“Forgive me?”

“On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Forgive me.”

“As long as you promise never to leave me again.”

“I promise. If I’m gone, it’s not by choice.”

She kissed him again. 

“How did you find me?”

“I always had the systems running, looking for you. It wasn’t hard.”

“I’d like to hear it.”

“Tomorrow,” she said, holding his hand. “If you’re staying what will you do with the bookstore? I had to almost drain your bank accounts to get the money for it.”

“Sell it and bank the money again. I already put it up for sale.”

“You did?”

“Well, two months from now, it’ll be on the market.”

“I see.”

“If you didn’t accept me on board, it was time to reinvent myself anyway.”

“What would you be this time?”

He shrugged. “I would have thought of something.”

“Now you don’t have to.”

“Yes. Plan A worked.”

“Are you happy?”

He clasped her hand. “Yes. You?”

She nodded. “I think I am.”

They sat in silence for a while then he asked, “Does the Time Bureau know I survived?”

“I might have forgotten to tell them that teensy fact.” Gideon smiled impishly at him.

He kissed the tip of her nose. “They’ll have to know… later.”

Gideon held onto his shirt and kissed him gently, crossing her fingers. “Tomorrow. Promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos/Comments...there may be more coming...


End file.
